Upstate New York, Five Years Ago
Beyoncé was suffocating, that was for sure. She couldn't speak, she couldn't move and she certainly couldn't escape. With every passing moment she inched closer to blacking out for good.
"Tom! Put her down!" Sarah demanded. The hulking giant, clearly not aware of his own strength, released her from the bear hug and Beyoncé gulped down air as fast as possible. "Oh sweet Jesus Christ it really is you." Sarah walked over and touched Beyoncé's face in disbelief before pulling her into a much gentler, less suffocating hug.
"How are you doing?" Beyoncé asked.
"Oh, you know, losing the baby weight. We're all wonderful though." Sarah pulled away and studied her face. "You look so thin! What have your parents been feeding you?"
"Well, it's a long story actually." Beyoncé replied but she didn't have any intention of pursuing the matter fully.
"Is Kelly with you?" Beyoncé felt the pain sink in instantaneously. She looked down at her feet, stifling a sob. Sarah noticed her downcast expression but she also heard her daughter start crying in the kitchen. She knew her daughter was probably fine, more than likely she spilled her cheerios again. Beyoncé, however, did not look fine.
"Tom, could you please go take care of Laney?" Sarah said, never taking her eyes off of the girl standing in their entry way. Tom, not thinking too much of it, ambled off to quiet the one year old. Sarah studied her face.
"Honey, is everything okay? Something tells me this trip wasn't particularly planned."
"Can I stay here? Just for tonight." Beyoncé said.
"Of course, you can stay for as long as you need, sweetie. But I need you to tell me if you're in some kind of trouble." Beyoncé decided she shouldn't hide the fact that she wasn't supposed to be there. It was their choice whether they wanted to house a mess of a girl.
"I mean, I was supposed to go home today. My parents dont know where I am right now." She admitted. "But I wasn't ready to go home." A thousand questions swam through Sarahs mind but she could tell that Beyoncé was in no condition to explain her situation.
"I won't ask why." She replied. "And I still stand by what I said before about you staying for as long as you need. But I only ask that you call your parents and tell them that you're safe. If they need to talk to me, so be it but I want you to call them now." Beyoncé hesitated for a moment. If she called her parents, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't drive to the farm themselves and take her home. But she owed it to Sarah to do this one thing. She pulled out her cell phone and looked at the screen. There were twenty voicemails and even more missed calls, all coming from her home phone. She hit "redial" and waited. It only took one ring before her mother answered.
"Beyoncé?" Her mother asked.
"Hi mom."
"Oh thank god." Her mother sighed. "Where are you? Your father and I have been worried to death."
"I'm safe mom. I'm actually staying with a friend for the night."
"And you couldn't damn well tell us before hand?" She heard her father shout in the background.
"Hush!" Beyoncé's mom said. "Bey, where are you?"
"I'm staying with a friend, mom. Please try and understand."
